Bonsai

Lovely little tree. Do you know how old it is? It would be ideal outside my doll's house :)

I,ve no idea Gee19 , i,ve only had it about 3yrs , it was an xmas gift .

Yes it would go well outside a dolls house have you had it since you were little or is it a new hobby ?

I started the dolls house (from a kit) about 10 years or so ago. It's expanded a bit since then - a new extension, conservatory, etc. etc. - just like real life!! Even though my grandchildren are now older they still like to look inside to see what's new! A garden is next on my list of things to do.

That sounds lovely Gee19. I have often looked at dolls houses and thought that I would like to do that , we have a very very old one which my husband made for our daughter when she was little , we still have it in an outhouse , it is falling to pieces windows hanging out doors fallen off , it should really be thrown out but we keep putting off that day LOL

The garden will be an exciting addition , maybe you could put a photo of it on when it,s done ..well it is gardening ! :0)

I reckon the tree is about 5 years old if you have it 3 years, most of the bonsai trees sold are at least 2 years old.

Ficus bangladensis.

Probably started life in the ground. They grow much faster and increase girth quicker.

Probably grown for two to three years in the ground, root pruned every three to six months.

Chopped to a few inches tall then grown on for a year or two, still root pruning quite often.

Dug up, repotted.

Shipped to distributor then on to stores.

Then on to the customer (sometimes roots are packed in clay to stop them drying out in transit/storage. You MUST get rid of as much clay as possible and repot into a good potting material).

Peace n love
StJ

I'm sorry to say it didn't survive for very much longer after this photo was taken Stj.... I should have had your good advice much sooner thanks for that anyway ,I'll know how to treat it if I ever get another one ! ...

Sorry to hear it didn't survive.
A little advice if you buy another. If the one you get is like the previous one in girthheight and a similar size pot, wash the roots and repot immediately.
The pot in the pic is too small for this tree.

Thanks Stj. thats good advice , I only have one set of Bonsai at the moment they are Horse Chestnuts grown from Conkers my children picked off the ground about 40 years ago the trees are still healthy approx. 18" tall ,I was worried last year as they developed brown blotches on some leaves which looked like the disease which the mature trees are suffering from in recent years ,I picked each leaf off it will be interesting to see if it's healthy this year ...

I have a Horse Chestnut bonsai about 2' tall with a girth at the base of about 2". I collected it from the wild next to a dirt track. It was estimated to be about 8 years old but had been vandalized and snapped to a height of about 30" with the top 6" dead. I cut the dead portion off and grew it on for a couple of years. Thought it was still ugly so reduced height to a more suitable and asthetically proportioned tree. Now after about 25 years since I collected it, it's looking much better.
Horse Chestnut aren't really suitable for bonsai purposes unless you go for a large bonsai (due to their huge leaves).
Having said that, my Chestnut Tree has leaves that are about 1/4 of the original size.

Its nice to know you were able to save the tree Stj. and that its survived 25 years with your good care , The leaves of the Horse Chestnut do get rather large I tend to nip out the largest as they grow ,you must put a photo on here when it is in leaf this year ... I'd like to see it :o)